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Louie Weaver
Louie Weaver III (born July 13, 1951) is an American musician and drummer. He was the drummer of Petra from 1981 to 2003. He was also the drummer in the Classic Petra incarnation formed from 2010 to 2012. Biography Louie Weaver was born on July 13, 1951 in Nashville, Tennessee. He was in many bands in his youth, including The Red Tops, the Good Grief band, and The Chuck McLeod Band. In 7th grade, Weaver was part of a band called The Gooffers, replacing drummer Roger Fife. During high school, he was part of a jazz band. After graduating in 1969, he continued studying in Trevecca Nazarene College where he obtained a Bachelor of Arts in percussion. After college, Weaver started working as a session musician and with several artists. He played for Randy Matthews, Fireworks, Crossfire, Parable, Good Grief, and Chuck McCleod's Band. Petra Weaver joined Petra in 1981, shortly after the release of Never Say Die. He went on to tour with the band in support of the album. After that, he helped record the band's fifth studio album, More Power to Ya, which was released in 1982. For the next two Petra albums, producer Jonathan David Brown decided not to use Weaver, instead recording with either a session drummer or synthesized drums. Brown said in an interview that, after their differences, Weaver "became what I'd consider to be one of the best and most consistent drummers in the business". Weaver was an integral part of Petra during their peak years in the late 80's and early 90's. He was also voted "Favorite Drummer" by CCM Magazine's readers for five years in a row (1989-1993). In February 8, 2003, Weaver was controversially fired from the band. The decision was made by singer John Schlitt and manager Wayne Seboa. At the time of the dismissal, Weaver was the longest-tenured band member, having spent 22 years with the band. In a statement, Weaver said that he was "surprised" and "shocked" by the decision. However, neither Weaver nor Petra offered any more details about the incident. After Petra Despite him being fired by Schlitt, in 2005 Weaver collaborated with him for a project called Project Damage Control. Weaver also performed briefly with a band called Viktor with other well-known veteran musicians. Reunited with Petra In 2010, Weaver reunited with Bob Hartman and former Petra members Greg X. Volz, Mark Kelly, and John Lawry to perform under the name of Classic Petra. The band released an album titled Back to the Rock that year. The next year, they released a live version of the album. Classic Petra toured North America and Europe from 2010 to 2012. In 2015, Weaver rejoined Schlitt, Hartman, Lawry, and Ronny Cates during a live performance in CCM United. The band played "I Am on the Rock". Personal life Weaver is married to his wife, Penny. They have two children, a son and a daughter together. Weaver is a fan of Mickey Mouse, using his imagery on his clothes, drums, etc. He even named his daughter after the famous mouse. Album credits with Petra * More Power to Ya (1982) * Not of this World (1983) * Beat the System (1985) only credits * Captured In Time and Space (1986) * Back to the Street (1986) * This Means War! (1987) * On Fire! (1988) * Petra Praise: The Rock Cries Out (1989) * Beyond Belief (1990) * Unseen Power (1991) * Wake-Up Call (1993) * No Doubt (1995) * Petra Praise 2: We Need Jesus (1997) * God Fixation (1998) * Double Take (2000) * Revival (2001) with Classic Petra * Back to the Rock (2010) * Back to the Rock Live (2011) External links *Louie Weaver on Wikipedia Category:People Category:Band members Category:Musicians Category:Drummers